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How to Build a Strong Brand [Complete Guide]
We choose brands that we have attached to and associate with in one way or another. Most often, we weigh our own personalities in different brands, and this is exactly how you should work when building your own brand.
The importance of building a brand
From the milk package in the morning to the TV in the evening we are surrounded by brands today. You can think what you want about brands but they characterize us no matter what we want to believe. Apple or Microsoft, Nike or Adidas, Cola or Pepsi.
If you look at Adidas they work with football players like Messi or Özil, and Nike with like Ronaldo or Zlatan. Usually you want the brand to be reflected in the person.
Studies show that those who target their brand purposefully have a significantly higher operating margin than those who do not, so think about your brand right from the start.
You are your brand
Thinking about and building their brand is at least as important for a small company, and here it is important to understand and make use of it at an early stage, that it is you, as the owner or the CEO, that is the start of the company’s brand.
Think about what feeling you want to convey. Expensive, inexpensive, professional, fast, high-quality service etc. The brand is from the very start in you, and the more time goes by and the company grows, the company’s brand grows. You and no one else can convey the feeling you want to reach out with.
What makes a brand strong?
Clothes, looks and behavior control how we “read” each other in everyday life. Radiance, personality and visual codes as clothing give us different types of emotions.
If you work as a doctor, it is perhaps not suitable to come in jogger’s clothing. The same goes for a company. A good brand creates confidence, which in turn leads to new business. A strong brand also attracts the most important thing a company has – good people and the right staff.
Now we have talked about why you work with the brand and what it is. Now we move on to how we do the job – the different parts of the brand and what you can do to build a strong brand.
Brand is to be able to identify and distinguish a company. Today, the brand is often synonymous with a logotype where you want to make your brand visible in an appealing and memorable way.
As I said a brand works as us people, and just like ourselves, companies have a way they think about themselves and how they want the brand to be perceived (Identity) and so there is what is called image, ie how you are actually perceived by customers, competitors and other players.
The goal is always to establish the image you want to convey (identity) to be in phase with the image that people have of you.
Now we are going to build a brand, how do we do? It starts with the name. To come up with a name today is much more difficult because you have to have a name today whose domain name is free and isn’t mixed up with someone else.
Something that is extremely important in creating a company name is that you should feel proud of the name and that you think it through carefully. Here are some things to consider.
1. A Company Name Should be easy to remember
It should be short. Of course, one or two short words are easier to remember than longer names and syllables. A short company name also looks good on business cards, letters, and other graphic material. A short company name also becomes a good domain name for the company’s website. It should be easy to spell. A company name should be easy to pronounce.
2. Your business name should stand out from the rest
A good company name should be unique and it should be different from competitors. Check out what competing businesses are called and make sure you stand out from the crowd!
3. It should say something about your products, services, and company
If the company name also has something to do with the industry in which you operate, they will more easily remember it as the company that will be able to meet their needs.
4. It should be timeless
A trendy company name can easily be remembered by new customers. It might sound cool. But a trend is just something that works over a certain period of time. Therefore, focus on something a little more timeless that works today and 10 years from now.
5. A good name should be an advertising tool
Companies like Nike and Apple no longer need to do extensive advertising campaigns to get people to buy and talk about their products. The name advertises itself. Of course, this is a big company, but there is no reason not to try to create a name that could market the entire company, no matter how small.
Don’t forget the profile
If you have a name, it is extremely important to get the brand visually. Most often, the entire work is summarized in something called a graphic profile or design program. The graphic profile is applied to everything from business cards to decor or profile items.
Perhaps the most important part of the graphic profile is the logo. A logo can be either an image or wordmark, such as Google‘s colorful letters or Apple’s apple.
The logo is important because it is easy to recognize and remember. It can also tell itself something about the brand, for example, a five-star hotel could not have a graphic profile such as Walmart. But it is only a small part of the brand’s work – a good logo must be loaded with the brand’s importance in order to really fulfill its function.
There is a whole world to explore here and a lot that can be said but my best advice is to keep it simple and make sure to create a brand that also lasts for ten years.
Marketing
Companies buy advertising to influence their image – it doesn’t have to be just to tell them about their offers. Through advertising, you can not only increase the recognition of your product, but also tell you something about how you want the brand to be perceived or combine the two.
Advertising is just a part of the information that a person takes into account when they create an image of a brand, and strangely enough, few people are particularly aware of advertising messages. We also live in a time when we are exposed to a lot of advertising so it is important to know what you are doing before advertising.
To try to control the image of your company in editorial media, for example, PR and media, training is used.
You will achieve the greatest success with your image if you manage to combine the purchased (advertising) and the unsecured (PR) in the media space.
Agencies, experts, and you
There is a whole wealth of expertise here that you can get help with in your branding work. However, it can be mentioned that the boundary between the agencies is becoming more blurry and branches are now merging into each other.
One term that is being used more and more is the full-service agency. It is an agency that wants to manage several branches. The positive thing about this is that the customer does not have to work with five different contact persons but can get a contact person for all media management.
Advertising and design agencies are responsible for graphic profile and advertising.
Public relations agencies work with the image of the brand in the media, the unpurchased part and social media.
Media agencies are responsible for placing companies’ media budget (buying advertising and advertising space) so that it returns the customer.
Web agencies work with the digital and primarily with websites.
SEM or SEO agencies are working to make companies visible on search media, today mainly Google.
Larger companies also often have a marketing department and a communications station manager, who is responsible for the brand, and of course there is a wealth of consultants who work with brand, market and communication.
Start small and grow from there and if you have the opportunity, take the help of an agency.
